The scene

is the Globe Theater in London. The year is 1642. The

Puritans are threatening to tear down all of the theaters

on charges of blasphemy and members of the theater

company, which has performed all of William Shakespeare's

plays, are trying to decide which piece by the Bard will

be their last.

That is the

premise behind Fayette County High School's production of

"London, 1642," written by FCHS drama director

James Wagoner and of course, William Shakespeare. The

project was intended to inspire students to learn the

heritage of Shakespeare and how to prepare for a

Shakespearean production. The play will be produced

almost exactly like a Globe Theater production, with the

exception that females will play female roles instead of

men.

There are

29 actors, each with a lead role in one of the excerpts

from 11 plays being performed. The chosen scenes should

give the audience the whole story of each work. "The

actors had to learn about performing works of

Shakespeare," said Wagoner. "They had to learn

the context of the material, the style, and the iambic

pentameter. It's been a lot of fun and has been going

very well."

Six works

will be performed each night and each night promises a

different show. Scenes from the following will be

performed: "Henry VIII," "Hamlet,"

"The Merchant of Venice," "Othello,"

"Twelfth Night," "The Taming of the

Shrew," "The Tempest," "Much Ado

About Nothing," "Measure by Measure,"

"Romeo and Juliet" and "MacBeth."

There may be some changes in the order of each night.

The school

has been working together on this project. The

award-winning Fayette County Select Chorus will perform

songs from the Renaissance before the show, and all 1,600

English students at FCHS will see the play Tuesday. The

drama department has been working on the production since

Christmas. The school entered the state drama competition

in the fall and took home awards for the best actor, Josh

Kirby, and became the third ranked drama department in

the state.

The

production values for "London, 1642" are very

high. "We rented professional costumes for the

actors," said Wagoner. "I wanted them to have

the full experience of a Shakespearean production. We're

not going cheap."

The Friends

of the Fayette County Public Library have also pitched in

on the production. They will have a display in the lobby

about Shakespeare and his works and will be selling mugs

with his likeness to celebrate his birthday and to raise

money for resources and collections for the Library.

"London,

1642" will be presented May 3-6 at 7 p.m. at Sams

Auditorium in Fayetteville. Admission is $5 for students

and senior citizens and $7 for adults.

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